Thin cards are a problem, but that doesn't explain why, for the first time, an uninjured champion of theirs refused to fight.

Jones and camp had to be aware that that was a card built entirely on his fight. They must have had a sense of the odds that the UFC could put a different fight in there, to not have a shitty, underwhelming, brand-damaging PPV, on such short notice.

We're talking about one of the biggest stars in the sport, defending one of the most coveted and highly competitive belts on PPV, backed by millions worth of promo. One could argue every card should be co-headlined, to avoid this sort of thing, but the fact remains that it was the Jon Jones show, and he failed to handle biz.

I strained my voice Thurs (and pulled my shoulder), at a gig, and still came through on Friday's show, did two in two different states Saturday, and a boat cruise show today (Sun). The show must go on.

If the details of a gig change, roll with it. This guy wasn't even hurt. He was in absolute beast mode, 10 weeks deep into training, and wouldn't switch from Hendo, who knocked Fedor out, to a beefed up Middleweight he himself said wasn't worthy to compete for his belt not too long prior.

Weak!

The guy in charge of whether or not the show went on was Dana White. However brand damaging you think a Jones-less Jones-centric PPV would have been, it's not as damaging as simply cancelling the event altogether. Refund tickets, cut ticket prices to get more people in the seats, accept that there will be a low PPV buy rate. The show could go on and the rest of the guys could get paid. That card wasn't just thin; it was a made-for-TV card with a PPV sticker price because of one fight.

Dana White is the one that is always saying you can't judge a card before you see it, that you end up getting excellent fights from where you least expect it. Well, he judged the 151 card to be too shitty to go on without the one fight that he sold the whole thing on, or the gimmicky, undeserved title fight that he tried to replace it with at the last minute.

If you want an explanation for why the champion chose not to fight, look no further than the fact that MMA is becoming more of a sport. These guys are athletes. Jon Jones is a brand and a businessman--you get sponsored by Nike, that's just the way it is. Dana White is dealing with Jon Jones, Inc. You're faulting Jon Jones for having his fight contract breached and then not being able to renegotiate a new contract to fight Chael Sonnen on short notice. Faulting him for not putting everyone and everything ahead of himself in terms of importance. Jon Jones trades on his aura of invincibility, and he trained for pretty much the exact opposite of the fight that Chael Sonnen represents. Would Jones beat Chael? I'm certain he would have murdered him, but if Chael made Jones look mortal, then Jones would have won a meaningless battle that robbed him of the biggest psychological advantage that he has every time he walks into the cage.

You can't get complacent. You can't expect that someone will do favors for you at the possible detriment to themselves. You can't fail to have a backup plan. And (this one is more personal opinion) you don't treat your organization's title belts like cheap accessories by throwing a title shot at whatever warm body you can find.

CNagy,
Well said all the way through. The fight game is changing again. I think part of the Jon Jones resentment from fans is the end of Average Joe in top level MMA. Jones is a glimpse into the super athlete that will dominate the sport going forward. (The athletes have been WAY past Average Joe for awhile, Jones just shatters any remaining delusion and is obviously at the same caliber as other top level professional athletes.) UFC needs to adapt because the number of legitimate contenders may soon decrease dramatically.

If you want an explanation for why the champion chose not to fight, look no further than the fact that MMA is becoming more of a sport. These guys are athletes. Jon Jones is a brand and a businessman--you get sponsored by Nike, that's just the way it is. Dana White is dealing with Jon Jones, Inc. You're faulting Jon Jones for having his fight contract breached and then not being able to renegotiate a new contract to fight Chael Sonnen on short notice.

I'm faulting him for not going through with the pay per view event, that was built on him defending his title. That's it. It's a paid gig, and he torpedoed it. Not cool.

I gig. I do the damn gig. Different drummer, different genre than expected, different area of the venue, change in schedule, or set length, sore voice, pulled muscles, playing a different instrument, no ride home, shitty sound system, broken strings etc etc. Do the gig, bitch later. Don't let the people-who-are-to-be-entertained down.

If after a 10 week camp, he wasn't ready for a less dangerous guy, that's f-ing sad.

The sport is changing, but to welcome that timidity is insane. He's supposed to be one of the best 2 or 3 fighters on the planet. I'm not feeling like that's championship spirit, dodging a guy who's not the fighter he is, when he wasn't injured or anything.

I'm faulting him for not going through with the pay per view event, that was built on him defending his title. That's it. It's a paid gig, and he torpedoed it. Not cool.

Dana torpedo the gig, Jones torpedo one fight.

I gig. Same silly analogy with more of an explanation.

Yes, but there are people who are in the upper echelon, not trying to be noticed, that do the exact opposite. They have walked off stage, canceled shows and bitched at the audience during a concert. Is it shitty? Sure. Still, Jones is at the top and just like certain people in your world they have a sense of stupid entitlement you apparently do not comprehend.

No, I don't like it, but I don't have their level of success to dictate things the way they do.

We're talking about one of the biggest stars in the sport, defending one of the most coveted and highly competitive belts on PPV, backed by millions worth of promo.

That's why he had the power to say no.

I strained my voice Thurs (and pulled my shoulder), at a gig, and still came through on Friday's show, did two in two different states Saturday, and a boat cruise show today (Sun). The show must go on.

I'm faulting him for not going through with the pay per view event, that was built on him defending his title. That's it. It's a paid gig, and he torpedoed it. Not cool.

I gig. I do the damn gig. Different drummer, different genre than expected, different area of the venue, change in schedule, or set length, sore voice, pulled muscles, playing a different instrument, no ride home, shitty sound system, broken strings etc etc. Do the gig, bitch later. Don't let the people-who-are-to-be-entertained down.

If after a 10 week camp, he wasn't ready for a less dangerous guy, that's f-ing sad.

The sport is changing, but to welcome that timidity is insane. He's supposed to be one of the best 2 or 3 fighters on the planet. I'm not feeling like that's championship spirit, dodging a guy who's not the fighter he is, when he wasn't injured or anything.

If you're playing with a different drummer, it's because the original drummer flaked or couldn't get there or something came up, and he got replaced. Maybe he couldn't or didn't want to make the new venue. Maybe that's a dick move. But he got replaced and the show went on. Do you see where I'm going with this?